It is, indeed, a matter for gratification that the Navajivan Trust is
publishing selections from Mahatma Gandhi's writings on "Village Swaraj" in
a book form. The publication contains Gandhiji's views on different aspects
of rural life including agriculture, village industry, animal husbandry,
transport, basic education, health and hygiene. At a time when we are
endeavouring to establish Panchayati Raj in India on the basis of wide
decentralization of political and economic power, this book is bound to be
of great to a large number of official as well as non-official workers. The Community
Development movement should not be regarded as some kind of a programme
which has been largely imported from the Western democracies; it must
necessarily be based on Indian conditions and traditions. It is, therefore,
of paramount importance that all workers who are being trained for
participating in this movement should possess ample knowledge about
Gandhiji's ideas in regard to various aspects of rural reconstruction. If we
overlook and bypass Gandhiji's experience and ideals about the pattern of
Indian planning, we shall be doing so at great peril to the evolution of our
democracy on sound foundations.
It is wrong to think that Gandhiji entertained outmoded ideas regarding modern
Industrialization. As a matter of fact, he was not against mechanization as
such; he strongly objected to "the craze for machinery". He welcomed every
improvement in small machines which could provide employment to millions of
artisans in the villages. In place of mass production by big factories he
advocated production by the masses in their own homes and cottages. Gandhiji
was most anxious to provide full employment to every able-bodied citizen of
India, and he maintained that this objective could be achieved only by
organizing village and cottage industries in the countryside in an efficient
manner. Any economic planning which did not utilize fully the idle manpower
in the rural areas could not be termed as sound or rational. "To a people,
famishing and idle," said Gandhiji, "the only acceptable form in which God
can dare appear is work and promise of food as wages." (Selections from
Gandhi, by N. K. Bose, p. 49) This ideal of full employment is now
recognized by Western eco­nomists as basic to planned economic development,
particularly of underdeveloped countries with large and growing populations.
Prof. Galbraith is of the view that "full employment is more desirable than
increased production combined with unemployment". (The Aff­luent Society, p. 155)
Mahatrtia Gandhi strongly pleaded for decentrali­zation of economic and
political power through the organization of Village Panchayats. He was of
the definite view that Panchayat system in India, if worked on scientific
lines, could not only build up the social and economic strength of the
countryside but also strengthen the forces of national defence against the
risk of foreign invasion. Acharya Vinoba Bhave has also been laying great
stress on the urgent need for organiz­ing the Indian villages on a
co-operative community basis through Gramadana. This ideal of
decentralized de­mocracy or Panchayati Raj should not be regarded as a
sentimental proposition based on medieval notions. A study of modern
economic and political thought in the West would indicate that decentralized
institutions are now regarded as crucial to the establishment of demo­cracy
on stable foundations. "If man's faith in social action is to be
revivified," states Prof. Joad, "the State must be cut up and its functions
distributed." (Modern Political Theory, pp. 120-21) In his Fabian
Socialism, Prof. Cole maintains that for diffusing widely among ordinary
men and women a capacity for collective activity "we must set out to build
our society upon little democracies". From this standpoint, the experiment
of Panchayati Raj which has been launched in India's countryside with zeal
and vigour is a right step towards the goal of "Village Swaraj" envisaged by Gandhiji.
Above all, we should be clear in our minds that Gandhiji did not stand for a
social and economic order based on material values alone. He always upheld
the ideal of plain living and high thinking and worked for a higher
standard of life and not merely for a higher standard of living.
"Civilization, in the real sense of the term", remarks Gandhiji, "consists
not in the multiplication but in the deliberate and voluntary restriction of
wants."
Unfortunately, this ethical and moral aspect of economic life has often been
neglected to the detriment of real human welfare. Modern economists are now
emphasizing the urgent need for 'investment in man' in addition to
'investment in goods' for achieving broad- based and speedy economic growth.
Prof. Schumpeter rightly observes that for the success of economic and
political democracy, "individuals with adequate ability and moral character
must exist in sufficient numbers". (Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy)
The same idea has been forcefully expressed by Mr. Crosland in the following
words: "We do not want to enter the age of abundance only to find that we
have lost the values which might teach us how to enjoy it." (Future of
Socialism, p. 529) It is, therefore, this human and moral aspect of our
planning which must be constantly borne in mind by all workers, officials as
well as non- officials, who are engaged in this great adventure of building
up a New India of Gandhiji's dreams.
New Delhi
13-11-1962